Binns, C.

Lee, M.K.

Wren, L.

English

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Citation: Binns, C.; Lee, M.K.; Wren,L. The Broad Spectrum andContinuing Needs of Women’sHealth. Int. J. Environ. Res. PublicHealth 2022, 19, 1446. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031446Received: 25 January 2022Accepted: 25 January 2022Published: 27 January 2022Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralwith regard to jurisdictional claims inpublished maps and institutional affil-iations.Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).International  Journal  ofEnvironmental Researchand Public HealthEditorialThe Broad Spectrum and Continuing Needs of Women’s HealthColin Binns 1,* , Mi Kyung Lee 2 and Lyn Wren 31 School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley 6102, Australia2 College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, Australia;M.K.Lee@murdoch.edu.au3 Quinns Mindarie Super Clinic, Perth 6030, Australia; lwren@qmsclinic.com.au* Correspondence: c.binns@curtin.edu.auThe Women’s Health section of the IJERPH has published almost 700 papers in thepast three years, reflecting its importance in public health. This Special Issue, “FeaturePapers in Women’s Health”, highlights a selection of topics illustrating the diversity ofissues that affect the wellbeing of women. Improving and sustaining the health of women isnot only important for the present generation but also to preserve the health of generationsto come. The development of modern, scientific medicine over the past two centurieshas made great progress in finding solutions to infectious diseases and poor nutrition.However, women face specific risks from issues related to gender and to the effects ofevents beyond their control. Such events include sex trafficking and intimate partnerviolence. The continuing exploitation of women in sex trafficking has a devastating effecton their health. Women are also frequently the victims of violence, including from theirpartners and often more severely during times of conflict and stress. The incidence ofdomestic violence has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that human society remains vulnerable to newinfections and that public health should never become complacent. While mortality ratesfrom infections have generally declined during the 20th century, food, water and vector-borne diseases and chronic diseases have provided an increasing challenge. Now, theworld faces what may become the greatest public health challenge it has ever faced—thechallenge of climate change.A wealth of research in recent years has confirmed the relationship between climatechange and human health. There will be increases in zoonoses and food-, water- and vector-borne diseases and mental health issues. Poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition, livingin remote and isolated areas and restrictions imposed by social norms all tend to exacerbatethe gender-related effects of climate change. Climate change affects reproductive healththrough changes in extreme weather events, food shortages and malnutrition and increasedair pollution. These factors increase the risk of preterm birth, low birthweight, stillbirthsand consequent impacts on brain development. In most countries, and particularly inlow- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the predetermined social roles of womencontinue. The WHO noted that everyone is harmed by the impacts of climate change,with harms falling disproportionately on disadvantaged population groups, includingwomen and girls, indigenous communities, people in crisis, displaced people and theeconomically disadvantaged. The stresses placed on society by the COVID-19 pandemicmay be a foretaste of the impact of climate change, even in higher-income societies [1].The increase in environmental pollution being experienced worldwide will impactwomen’s fertility. Maintaining and improving breastfeeding rates of infants is an importantstrategy for modifying the impact of climate change on infants, and this may benefit fromthe application of new communication technologies [2,3]. Sometimes, pollutants may befound in breastmilk, and efforts need be made to continue to reduce environmental pollu-tion, but breastmilk is still the safest and most beneficial way to feed all infants [4]. Culturalpressures, however, continue to subjugate women’s management of their reproductiveInt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1446. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031446 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerphInt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1446 2 of 3lives. This is seen in many cultures where girls are breastfed for shorter periods than boys,creating future nutrition and health outcome disparities. This may be due to the pressureto cease lactational amenorrhoea and conceive a male child.The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all segments of the population, with malesgenerally having a higher mortality rate than females, but women may experience higherlevels of long-term morbidity. In the early months of the pandemic, when it was not knownwhether COVID-19 could be commonly transmitted to infants via breastmilk, infants werefrequently separated from COVID-19-positive mothers [5]. This resulted in a substantialdecline in the breastfeeding of infants with all of the negative flow-on effects on the infant’sfuture life. A substantial proportion of COVID cases, probably about one third, havelong-term symptoms, and the majority of these cases will be in women. These women willlikely encounter discrimination in their quest for treatment.The reproductive years of life and childbirth are a time of additional morbidity. Inrecent decades, the incidence of caesarean section has increased worldwide, with often littleor no clinical justification. Iran is one country that has high rates of caesarean section, withmany being performed due to the preferences of the parents or the health care provider [6].This is not without risk to the mother and the infant, who may have additional risks in-cluding infections, hysterectomy, anaesthetic complications, anaemia and the costs of theintervention and longer hospital stays. For the infant, there are adverse infant feeding prac-tices associated with caesarean section, including the increased use of infant formula andthe reduced duration of breastfeeding with subsequent risk of poor health outcomes [6–8].Anaemia is one of the most common nutritional problems for women, present inaround one third and in 40% or more during pregnancy. Anaemia is an established riskfactor of an increase in several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases andcerebrovascular diseases [9]. Using the extensive national insurance database of Taiwan,Sui and colleagues found that anaemia is a risk factor for haemorrhagic and ischemic strokein females of reproductive age [9]. This highlights the importance of nutrition in preventinganaemia in women.The development of the vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV) was a signifi-cant advancement in the prevention of cervical cancer, which is the third most commoncancer in women globally and an important cause of penile carcinoma in men [10]. Thevaccine was initially targeted towards girls and now includes boys when they reach the ageof 11 or 12. In a systematic review of intervention studies, Acampora et al. have suggestedthat because of the value of this intervention, integrated approaches, including person-alized reminders, etc., information and education activities should be directed towardsboth adolescents and their parents [10]. There is a need to continually improve the healthliteracy of women, particularly in LMICs, to help achieve good health during pregnancyand the reproductive years [11].Women’s health will remain a significant issue for health services and public health.As highlighted by Ochola, there are many neglected tropical diseases that raise significantgender issues [12]. This journal will continue to highlight the importance of women’s healthfor this generation and the next generations of infants and girls. The COVID-19 pandemichas increased pressure on all segments of society through its impact on the march towardsuniversal health access and pressures on food and potable water supplies. However, theseissues will disproportionately effect women, and an upcoming Special Issue of the IJERPHwill focus on COVID and gender issues.Funding: This research received no external funding.Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1446 3 of 3References1. Belsey-Priebe, M.; Lyons, D.; Buonocore, J.J. COVID-19’s Impact on American Women’s Food Insecurity Foreshadows Vulnerabili-ties to Climate Change. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 6867. [CrossRef] [PubMed]2. Doan, T.T.D.; Binns, C.; Pham, N.M.; Zhao, Y.; Dinh, T.P.H.; Bui, T.T.H.; Tran, T.C.; Nguyen, X.H.; Giglia, R.; Xu, F.; et al. ImprovingBreastfeeding by Empowering Mothers in Vietnam: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Mobile App. Int. J. Environ. Res. PublicHealth 2020, 17, 5552. [CrossRef] [PubMed]3. Binns, C.W.; Lee, M.K.; Maycock, B.; Torheim, L.E.; Nanishi, K.; Duong, D.T.T. Climate Change, Food Supply, and DietaryGuidelines. Annu. Rev. Public Health 2021, 42, 233–255. [CrossRef] [PubMed]4. Foerster, C.; Zúñiga-Venegas, L.; Enríquez, P.; Rojas, J.; Zamora, C.; Muñoz, X.; Pancetti, F.; Muñoz-Quezada, M.T.; Lucero, B.;Saracini, C.; et al. Levels of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins/Furans (PCDD/Fs) and Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls(DL-PCBs) in Human Breast Milk in Chile: A Pilot Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4825. [CrossRef] [PubMed]5. Conti, M.G.; Natale, F.; Stolfi, I.; Pedicino, R.; Boscarino, G.; Ajassa, C.; Cardilli, V.; Ciambra, G.L.; Guadalupi, L.; Favata, P.; et al.Consequences of Early Separation of Maternal-Newborn Dyad in Neonates Born to SARS-CoV-2 Positive Mothers: An Observa-tional Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 5899. [CrossRef] [PubMed]6. Zarshenas, M.; Zhao, Y.; Binns, C.W.; Scott, J.A. Incidence and Determinants of Caesarean Section in Shiraz, Iran. Int. J. Environ.Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 5632. [CrossRef] [PubMed]7. Binns, C.; Lee, M.; Low, W.Y. The Long-Term Public Health Benefits of Breastfeeding. Asia-Pac. J. Public Health/Asia-Pac. Acad.Consort. Public Health 2016, 28, 7–14. [CrossRef] [PubMed]8. Duong, D.; Binns, C.; Lee, A.; Zhao, Y.; Pham, N.; Hoa, D.; Ha, B. Intention to Exclusively Breastfeed Is Associated with LowerRates of Cesarean Section for Nonmedical Reasons in a Cohort of Mothers in Vietnam. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022,19, 884. [CrossRef] [PubMed]9. Sui, Y.; Hong, C.-T.; Chien, L.-N.; Liu, H.-Y.; Chiou, H.-Y.; Hsieh, Y.-C. Association between Anemia and Stroke in Females: ANationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7440. [CrossRef] [PubMed]10. Acampora, A.; Grossi, A.; Barbara, A.; Colamesta, V.; Causio, F.A.; Calabrò, G.E.; Boccia, S.; de Waure, C. Increasing HPVVaccination Uptake among Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7997. [CrossRef][PubMed]11. França, A.S.; Pirkle, C.M.; Sentell, T.; Velez, M.P.; Domingues, M.R.; Bassani, D.G.; Câmara, S.M.A. Evaluating Health Literacyamong Adolescent and Young Adult Pregnant Women from a Low-Income Area of Northeast Brazil. Int. J. Environ. Res. PublicHealth 2020, 17, 8806. [CrossRef] [PubMed]12. Ochola, E.A.; Elliott, S.J.; Karanja, D.M.S. The Impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) on Women’s Health and Wellbeingin Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Case Study of Kenya. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 2180. [CrossRef] [PubMed]

The broad spectrum and continuing needs of women’s health

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The broad spectrum and continuing needs of women’s health

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